Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a victim!

Until a couple of days ago, i thought Cosplay was that pop group fronted by the bloke who used to be married to Gwyneth Paltrow before they ‘consciously uncoupled’ last year. then i published a marvellous photo of a group of grown women all dressed up as Wonder Woman for a cartoon convention in london, beneath the headline: ‘is it a bird? is it a plane?’

the picture originally appeared in a Sunday broadsheet and was a glorious example of British eccentricity and our penchant for fancy dress.

in case you missed it, here’s what i wrote: ‘they’ve obviously gone to a great deal of trouble. i especially like the woman who appears to have a tattoo of Elvis peeping over the top of her thigh-length boot.

‘the one in the Doc Martens seems to have modelled herself on the celebrity writer Caitlin Moran. Or, perhaps, Caitlyn Jenner.

‘ One problem, though. i’m not sure whether to file this under Makes You Proud to Be British, Here We Go looby loo or Bring On the Oompa loompas.’

As regular readers will be aware, the bizarre antics of people in fancy dress have been an affectionate feature of this column over the years.

We’ve had, among other things, punch-ups between Star Wars characters and Doctor Who lookalikes; sex in a public toilet involving a drunk dressed as tigger and a dopey bird in a leprechaun outfit; and a mass brawl featuring a stag party in Where’s Wally costumes at Manchester railway station.

Sightings of Spidermen and Super Marios have become commonplace and the Cornish resort of newquay has been plagued by groups of revellers dressed as everything from Catwoman to traffic cones.

this relatively recent phenomenon has added hugely to the gaiety of the nation, as well as spawning some fabulous Gary cartoons. And we haven’t had a single complaint.

Until now.

AFTER i made fun of the Wonder Woman wannabes, all hell let loose. that’s when i discovered that Cosplay isn’t the group who brought you hits such as Yellow and A rush Of Blood to the Head.

it’s the collective noun for people who enjoy dressing up as superheroes and other assorted cartoon characters.

As one outraged emailer, who likes to wear a Spiderman costume, explained: ‘the Cosplay community is well known for being a place free from judgment, a place where people can leave their skin for a day and become someone else who isn’t judged on their face, their tattoos, their hair or choice of clothing.’

this was just one of a number of angry emails complaining about my light-hearted remarks and demand-- ing a retraction and apology. Another wrote: ‘ i genuinely cannot believe you allow such disgusting articles to be published. Victimisation, shaming and bigotry.’

Yet another: ‘i found the whole t hing utterly disgusting and completely degrading, unnecessary and insulting. the bullying clearly committed in this article is potentially damaging to both physical and mental health.’ Calm down, dear. i also heard f rom a woman who describes herself as the founder of ‘ i- cosplay’, which is dedicated to stamping out ‘bullying’ and ‘narrow-mindedness and anti-social behaviour’.

Signed ‘Sarah Parker and the i- cosplay team’, it concludes: ‘We look forward to your reply.’ Well, here goes. in the normal course of events, i don’t respond to complaints from the modern equivalent of Disgusted of tunbridge Wells, especially when some of them are written in CAPITAL LETTERS!!!

But on this occasion, i’ll make an exception because the deranged reaction goes to the very heart of a much wider madness which afflicts our narcissistic and easily outraged society.

You might have assumed that anyone who chooses to go out in public togged up as a superhero would have a sense of humour. Surely that’s the whole point of it.

BUT i’VE always seen fancy dress as a substitute for a sense of humour. And the ‘ Cosplay community’ clearly t ake t hemselves very seriously indeed.

in this case, these women are determined to draw attention to themselves and cheerfully pose for photographs and post them on the internet.

So the self-appointed commissars of the Cosplay community need reminding that free dom of expression is a two-way street.

Just as anyone is perfectly entitled to express themselves by dressing up like five-year- olds on their way to a sleep-over, so others should be free to poke fun at them. the idea that making harmless jokes about a crowd of attentionseeking exhibitionists amounts to ‘ bullying’ and ‘ anti- social behaviour’ is ludicrous.

But, i suppose, it’s what i should have expected. People increasingly demand the right to do what they want, i n public, i mmune f rom criticism or ridicule.

As i have frequently observed, those who most noisily insist on ‘tolerance’ for their own behaviour, no matter how absurd or abhorrent, are usually the most intolerant of others who beg to differ. Anyone who raises an eyebrow at their antics must be shouted down, vilified and, ideally, prosecuted.

it’s absolutely right that there should be l aws which prevent discrimination against people on the grounds of race and sex.

But when di d people who l i ke dressing as comic book characters suddenly become a ‘vulnerable minority’?

Given the propensity of politicians to pander to any self- defined ‘victim’ group, it can only be a matter of time before laughing at members of t he Cosplay community becomes a ‘hate crime’. Cosphobia, anyone?

there’s no end to this kind of lunacy. in another, unrelated, i ncident i t was reported that professional drag queens have been banned f r om t aking part in Glasgow’s Gay Pride rally because they may cause offence to those who are genuinely transgendered/ transsexual/transvestite etc. You couldn’t make it up. At this rate the BBC will be coming under pressure not to show any repeats of the classic Only fools special featuring Del and rodders running through Peckham dressed as Batman and robin, on the grounds that it offends some of the more sensitive members of the Cosplay community.

So, Sarah and the i-cosplay team, and anyone else who chose to take offence where none was intended, you have my reply: Grow up and get a life.

now bring on the Oompa loompas.